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Harlow | Phoenix | Other people

"I'm thinking about dying my hair."

"Oh yeah? What color?"

"I'm trying to decide between dark red, dark purple, and dark blue."

"Why dark?"

"I don't know. I'm just . . . feeling dark."

"What about dark orange?"

"Like Fall?"

"Um, sure. Yeah."

"Maybe I will. I seen a few pictures of Fall coloring and I liked them."

"Will you send me a picture?"

"Of course I'll send my boyfriend a picture."

"The fact that I smile like a middle schooler everytime you call me your boyfriend makes me feel a little -

"Silly?"

"Yeah."

"The feeling is mutual. I think my Papa is trying to figure out a way to throw you a party. I know, I know it sounds weird but they want to I guess thank you for fighting for our freedom and . . . dating me? I don't know."

"Firstly, tell Mr. Papa that he doesn't need to throw me a party. I will continue to willingly date his daughter without one."

"Phoenix!"

"I'm just joking babe but in all honesty if your Papa wants to cook me up some of his famous honey beer bar-b-que chicken and waffles, I will not argue with him. The way you talked about them last week was torture to my stomach as I ate their sorry excuse for sweet potatoes."

"They made you guys pie?"

"No. What are you talking about?"

"You just said sweet potato like sweet potato pie, right?"

"No, like sweet potatoes that you eat with turkey and greens and mashed potatoes."

"You mean yams?"

"What?"

"Yams."

"What is that?"

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure we're talking about the same thing. I guess only people of color only say yams."

"I've never heard someone call it yams in my life."

"You're also not black Phoenix."

"Ethnicity has nothing to do with it . . . Hey Whitworth. Do you say sweet potatoes or yams? . . . Goff? Do you say sweet potatoes or yams? Thank you . . . What about you Jackson? . . . What about you Santos? . . . You've never had them? Nevermind then. What about you Woods? Hm."

"What did they say?"

" . . . . "

"Phoenix?"

"I still don't think it's a color thing. Maybe it's where you grew up."

"But you grew up in Indiana too so . . ."

"Sweet potato, roasted potatoes, Mr. Potato, yams. It's all in the same family and you know what I mean so let's just change the subject."

"Fine fine. So, how are you liking your new shift?"

"Aaaah, it's pretty decent."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just stretching but the day shift gives me more people to talk to . . . that is if I really wanted to talk to people."

"Oh, don't be so grumpy because Corey is gone."

"Can't help it. He was the only other person I could stand on this ship and that's saying a lot."

"You don't have any other friends?"

"I don't want any other friends. That would mean I have to talk to people and then being a sergeant, I can't be too friendly with my Marines. It's very frowned upon when people of different ranks hangout."

"That sounds a bit -'

"Yeah, I know. So did your plan work? Is Timara moving in?"

"She's not one hundred percent sure yet but she says that it's looking more towards a yes than no."

"That's great."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What are you going to do when you get out?"

"About that . . . I've been meaning to talk to you. I figured we could move in together."

"W-w . . . "

"Babe, I'm joking."

" . . . . "

"I'm joking."

" . . . . "

"Babe."

"Funny."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"I speak it fluently, you didn't know?"

"How could I forget? . . . Do you have plans afterwork Harlow?"

"I don't believe I do Phoenix. Why do you ask?"

"I have come down with a mild case of insomnia so I'll be up and willing to video chat. Are you free?"

" . . . . "

"Babe?"

" . . . . . "

"Don't get all shy on me now. We've technically already had our first video chat but it wasn't . . . it didn't go the way I had in mind so I want a do over . . . Well, I'm asking for a do over. So are you free?"

"For you, of course."

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Sitting up in my bunk careful not to smack my head I rubbed my face wishing that it was sleep that I was rubbing from my eyes. Not having a good night's rest in the past week and a half was taking a toll on my body.

There times I was a lot more snippy with my Marines pushing me more towards the asshole Sergeant than the cool one not that I wanted to be cool. I wasn't here to be their friends especially during work hours. One of my Marines almost slipped up and called me by my first name earning him a death glare from hell and a few choice words. Apart of me felt bad for getting in his face but my higher ups just so happened to drop by to give us a little more information about the ship. Once again the date of us leaving earlier was pushed back by a few weeks which was fine. Nothing in the military was definite hence why I refused to by a ticket home yet.

Whitworth had agreed to let me use his laptop for my video date with Harlow. Picking up the blue laptop with a Green Lantern sticker over the laptop company logo.

Opening it up I signed myself in wiping my hands on my pants to get some of the sweat off. Hovering over the Skype icon I remembered that I needed headphones searching my small at the foot of my bed that held a few things like chapstick, headphones, a picture of my Aunt Justine and Dylan, and an three extra pairs of chevrons.

Plugging in my headphones I clicked the Skype icon letting the page load.

Halow_xo is online

Clearing my throat I leaned over looking both ways seeing that everyone else was either sleep or had their own headphone on connected to their laptops or cellphones.

Making myself available online I rolled my neck from some to side running my hand through my short haircut. There wasn't much I could do about my hair since it had to be within regulation. Wiping over my face once more I clicked the video call button hearing Skype's famous calling tune.

Within a few rings the screen went black for a split second and then she appeared.

Just as beautiful as before she sat on the other side of the screen wearing a smile that was made specifically for me.

Dark black hair pulled into a puff at the top of her head with a yellow scarf wrapped around the crown of her head. Light colored glasses sat on the bridge of her nose still giving me a clear view of her dark colored eyes.

Unable to help the smile that spread across my face I couldn't form any words to let her know that I wasn't frozen. The light in her background wasn't bright but it was enough to show the worry in her face as I continued to smile at her beauty.

Perfectly arched eyebrows lowered in concern as a frown started to form. "Are you frozen?"

It was a different feeling from hearing her on the phone to actually being able to see her talk. Just beautiful.

"Phoenix?"

The silver chain around her neck sparkled when she tilted her head.

"Babe?"

Fucking perfect

"I'm here."

Her smile widened. "Hi."

"Hi."

Watching her eyes roam my face and the tan wall behind me I kept silent giving her time to take me in unlike the last time.

"There's so much that I want to say. I don't want it to seem like I'm yapping away at the mouth as if I'm flustered or nervous because I'm not. I mean we've talked for months now and on top of that we're dating so there really is no need for me to babble, you know?" She looked up from the table or her lowered hands back to the the screen letting out a giggle. "I swear I'm not nervous."

"It's okay to be nervous Harlow. I've been known to make a few women forget their train of thought."

That perfect smile returned.

"Oh, I'm sure. Are you still in uniform?"

Readjusting myself with a cramp forming in my back I laid on my side resting my head on my arm. "I haven't been to sleep yet and since we were having this Skype date I figured giving you a small tease of what I look like in uniform would hold you over until you can see the real thing."

"A tease for sure." She laughed. "I can only see half of your torso."

"Got to keep you wanting more."

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